The idea of the Ivy League colleges was made vastly popular in American cinema and pop culture. It became a term that stood for the best colleges in the world. In reality it stands specifically for American universities.

More precisely, the purest definition of Ivy League colleges are the 8 specific north-east American universities that are a part of a single athletic conference. These universities are Brown University (Rhode Island), Columbia University (New York), Cornell University (New York), Dartmouth College (New Hampshire), Harvard University (Massachusetts), the University of Pennsylvania (Pennsylvania), Princeton University (New Jersey), and Yale University (Connecticut).

These are 8 universities that excel at athletics, academics and are at the top of the social pyramid. Seven of these universities were founded before the American Civil War and hence have a long legacy of excellence that has been carried forward to this day.

Ivy League colleges have been the training ground for a number of the world’s richest individuals like Mark Zuckerberg and Bill Gates, as well as many men who have held office as the American president, arguably the most powerful position in the world.

Mistaken for Ivy League Schools

A common mistake is to consider all the top American colleges as Ivy League. For instance, Stanford, MIT and Caltech are mistakenly considered as Ivy League colleges, but technically they are not. While their standings in athletics and academics are on-par with the best, they do not actually fit the list mentioned above.

Applying to an Ivy League

Therefore, understandably, the number of applications to these universities is extremely high compared to others. Admission rates are between 5 and 8% for almost all of these institutes, so make sure that your scores, extra curriculum credits and applications are in world-class condition to avoid wasting money on application fees.

Do not try and apply to an Ivy League college just to see if you can get in by luck. It is not going to happen. Only apply if you are a highly focused individual who knows what you want and have already demonstrated grit and determination by taking big steps towards your life goals before the application process.